RE: need help with new savage
Sounds like you have a few things to work on.
To answer your first question, the drive cups need to be on the correct sides. If they are switche around, then your wheels can loosen up and go flying down the street at 30+ mph. How fast can you run? My suggestion would be to unscrew the bumper supports and remove the upper shock bolts. This will allow you to pull the bumper away from the chassis and pull out the pin holding the upper A-arm in place. Once the pin is removed, the suspension will swing down and you can remove the dog bones and the drive cups and switch them around.
To find out what is going on with your steering, I'd start by unhooking the linkage from the servo. If the steering moves, then something is wrong with the servo. If it is still stuck, then start loosening things until you find where it's binding.
Good Luck...
BTW- make sure you glue the tires to the wheels (funny story - see chasing tire at 30mph)